


Unknown Regions

by misskatieleigh



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Star Wars Rare Pairs Exchange 2017, questionable use of the Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-06 20:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12825648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misskatieleigh/pseuds/misskatieleigh
Summary: Bodhi Rook had known a lot of people he considered heroes. Luke Skywalker was something else.





	Unknown Regions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SidleyParkHermit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SidleyParkHermit/gifts).



Bodhi knew who Luke Skywalker was, tangentially. It seemed strange, to think that. Luke was the hero of the Rebellion after all, the Jedi that came to save them all. Bodhi knew a lot of heroes though, people who had sacrificed everything to bring down the Empire. The idea that Luke had swooped in and saved them all sat a little heavy in his chest, superimposed over the images of Chirrut and Baze left behind on Scarif, Tonc taking fire so he could rig up the communications link, Cassian falling and falling and falling through that tower and still fighting his way back to the top. Without them, without the plans to the Death Star, even Luke’s special connection to the Force might not have meant anything. So it only stood to reason that Bodhi Rook didn’t go to any particular effort to meet the Big Damn Hero. 

Eventually, the hero came to him. 

With the dust of Endor settling, the Rebellion struggled out of it’s post-celebratory hangover and went back to work. The Emperor was dead, and in his passing, left a power vacuum that his underlings were keen to fill. Leia Organa found her mask of diplomacy again, hair tucked securely back in place. Han Solo settled uneasily into the skin of a General, giving orders like he believed them and hoping for the best. Luke Skywalker decided to see what traces of the Jedi could be found lingering in the galaxy. 

\---

“So, I could use a pilot.”

Bodhi looked up from his breakfast, fork paused halfway to his mouth. He took a moment to process, tilting his head in confusion and swallowing before turning his face toward Luke. 

“Good morning to you as well,” he said, relieved when Luke flushed and ducked his head in response. 

“Sorry. Good morning. Um, do you mind if I sit?” Luke gestured at the otherwise empty table and Bodhi shrugged, letting out a huff of laughter. “Be my guest. I hear you’re looking for a pilot.”

If anything, Luke turned a deeper pink at that. Bodhi was aware of Luke’s attractiveness, but he was still surprised by how much he appreciated the flush coloring Luke’s neck. Luke slid into the seat across from Bodhi, putting his elbows on the table and folding his hands together under his chin. 

“Yes. I am.”

Bodhi returned to his breakfast, letting Luke squirm for a moment as he chewed and swallowed. 

“Alright, I’ll bite. Why me? Or, more accurately, why not Solo?”

Luke made a face, nose wrinkling in distaste at the suggestion. “Han’s busy playing General. Besides, he tends to find trouble. A smuggler has plenty of enemies in the galaxy.”

“So does a defector. There are ‘plenty’ of other pilots you could choose from. Kriff, _ you’re _ a pilot, you could fly yourself. So I’ll ask again, why me?”

Luke bit his lip and looked up to hold Bodhi’s gaze, eyebrows drawing together. He let out a heavy breath, like a weight was falling onto his shoulders. “I don’t know. You’re a good pilot. A good person too, from what I hear. You believe in doing the right thing. Maybe I’d like to have someone like that around. In case I need reminding.”

“Leia said you can’t go alone, didn’t she.”

The look of indignation flashing across Luke’s face was brief, but it made something in Bodhi’s chest light up like some secret joy. “It’s like she doesn’t trust me or something!”

Bodhi breathed out a huff of amusement, setting down his fork and leaning in closer to Luke. Hesitantly, he reached out toward Luke’s hands, but stopped, just shy of touching. “You know, from what I’ve seen, you’re a good man, too.”

Luke shook his head, unclasping his hands to scrub them over his face. “I try, it’s just... I feel like I’m racing to catch up - to what I’m meant to be, what I’m meant to be doing. I...I don’t know why I’m throwing this all on you, you barely know me.”

Bodhi let himself make contact then, curving his palm around Luke’s elbow. “Well, we’ll definitely get a chance to get to know one another if I become your chauffeur.”

The smile that twitched at the corner of Luke’s mouth set something fluttering in Bodhi’s stomach. This was either going to be a really bad idea, or a really really good one. 

He was sort of looking forward to finding out which. 

\---

Surprisingly, no one had an issue with Bodhi being assigned a ship and taking Luke on a jaunt across the known galaxy. Apparently it was helpful to have your sister, and wasn’t that a lovely revelation to add onto things, as one of the leaders of the Alliance. Leia gave Bodhi a smile that confused him. He thought she might suspect something about this arrangement that was far from true, but it was neither here nor there to him whether he was assigned to Luke or just moving troops around elsewhere. Past experience dictated that neither would be entirely safe and the Jedhan in him was curious about how much of the Jedi history was still out there to be found. 

The shuttle was small, two bunks and a ‘fresher to share, with a kitchen basically intended only to reheat rations. Bodhi was fine with that, his small recollection of recipes required ingredients that he couldn’t usually find and he tended to get emotional at the memories they dragged up anyway. He didn’t intend to put more pressure on Luke’s shoulders because he couldn’t keep himself together. 

Tucking his pack into one of the bunks to deal with later, Bodhi started giving the ship a thorough once over. No need to get out into wild space only to find that there was a loose screw trying to decompress the ship. Luke turned up when Bodhi had managed to get himself waist deep in the control console, securing bonding tape around some iffy wire connections and humming to himself as he worked. The nudge to his foot was unexpected enough that he almost slammed his head against the paneling above him, and Bodhi let out a bitten off curse in response. 

“Shi-!”

“Oh kriff, sorry! I thought you would have heard me coming in.”

Bodhi wriggled himself back out of the compartment, sure that he looked like some ridiculous space worm in the process. He caught Luke watching him though, his glance darting away as Bodhi’s head emerged back into the cockpit of the shuttle. He scowled a little, just to make Luke flush, and then levered himself up off of the floor. 

“It’s fine. I just got caught up in what I was doing. Should have been paying more attention.”

Luke smiled tentatively and leaned down to look at the still open console panel. “Is everything alright under there? Nothing majorly wrong with the shuttle, I hope.”

Bodhi wiped his hands off on his pants and tried to ignore the flicker of interest at the curve of Luke’s back. “It's fine, just me being particular about electrical connections. We should be good to go whenever you're ready.”

Luke flashed a grin and clapped Bodhi on the arm. “Great. I'll just go stash my stuff and we can get under way.”

Bodhi watched Luke disappear into the ship’s quarters and turned back toward the console. Better to finish putting things back together than to dwell on how little space there suddenly seemed to be between the two bunks, how much space Luke seemed to take up all on his own. Bodhi laid back down on the floor of the shuttle, screwdriver in hand, and reminded himself firmly that he wasn’t living in a holodrama. Romance wasn’t part of the itinerary for this mission. 

* * *

Stumbling back through the door of the shuttle, Bodhi gripped Luke’s shirt in his hand and shoved him up against the wall. Luke moaned, low and drawn out, Bodhi’s forearm the only thing keeping him upright. 

“Skywalker, don’t you dare pass out on me. Just give me five minutes to get us out of this hell hole and I can stitch you up.” Bodhi panted, drawing in huge gulps of air while he tried to steady his shaking hands. He pointedly ignored the red stain steadily spreading down Luke’s side. Evac, then medical aid. With just the two of them onboard, that was the only choice. 

“Luke, I need you to stay awake.” Bodhi guided Luke down to his knees, then laid him out on the floor of the shuttle. Luke’s eyes rolled open, his blue eyes glassy and unfocused. 

“Bo, don’t leave me,” he whispered, fingers feebly grasping for Bodhi’s sleeve. 

Bodhi brushed the sweat dampened hair out of Luke’s face, wincing when he left a streak of red in the wake of his hand. “Have to. Just for a minute. Stay. Awake. Okay?”

Luke managed to nod and Bodhi pulled himself free, throwing himself into the pilot seat and fumbling through getting the engines underway. He ought to call for departure clearance, but he could stand to burn his bridges at some backwater waystation. There was nothing of the Jedi left here and no one to welcome pilgrims even if there were. If he never set foot on this planet again he could die a happy man. 

Comm’s squawking, Bodhi pulled free of the docking and maneuvered the shuttle up into gradually darkening skies. Once they hit black, he slid the shuttle into hyperdrive and headed them in the very clear direction of Away From Here. He could sort out the rest later. The familiar glide of stars streaking past the viewport was small comfort with Luke’s blood drying under his nails. 

Bodhi grabbed the medkit off the wall of the cockpit and raced back toward Luke. Shoving his shirt up and out of the way, Bodhi took measure of the vibroblade wound. It was still bleeding, but sluggishly now, a soft pulse of fresh red with every exhale from Luke’s lungs. He’d been given basic field medical training by the Alliance, as a matter of course, but Bodhi knew there wasn’t much he could do on the shuttle if that bleeding meant something going on internally. Luke’s good hand brushed against Bodhi’s knee, his fingers still warm (still alive, Bodhi’s mind supplied helpfully). “Okay, I’ve got you. I’m going to have to stitch this and then bacta. Then I’ll get you to a hospital.”

Luke tapped Bodhi’s knee, the barest hint of a smile lingering around his mouth. “Y’take care...me, Bo. Good man.”

Bodhi dug through the medkit, pulling out a needle and thread. His heart ached in his chest, but he pushed the feeling aside and set to work. Luke was too important, to the Rebellion, to the Princess (to him, but that didn’t matter); Bodhi couldn’t be responsible for losing him. 

* * *

Bodhi pulled up the star chart on the shuttle’s display and glanced over his shoulder at Luke. “Where did you say you wanted to go again?”

Luke looked up, setting aside the tiny screwdriver he’d been using to make adjustments to his prosthetic hand. He tugged the synth-skin back into place and stood up from the table tucked into the back of the cockpit, walking up behind Bodhi. Leaning forward, his chest almost brushed against Bodhi’s shoulder. It wasn’t intentional, Bodhi reminded himself; Luke was just getting closer to the map. “There,” he said, pointing to a tiny dot set off on the outer edge of the chart. “Rakata Prime.”

Bodhi enlarged the map, pulling the region into better focus. His eyes skimmed over familiar landmarks, places he’d travelled for the Alliance and, further back, the Empire. Then he stopped. “Oh.”

Luke frowned, scanning the chart to see what Bodhi was looking at. “Oh what? Have you been there before?”

“No. It’s just...Jedha.”

Luke’s choked off breath was deafening in the enclosed space of the cockpit, and Bodhi felt anxiety creep up the back of his skull. “Luke?”

“Have you… have you been back there since…?” He wouldn’t look at Bodhi, eyes locked on the screen, the tiny dot of Jedha just like any of a thousand other planets. Bodhi shook his head anyway. He could feel Luke’s presence at his back, the tense line of his body caging Bodhi in place. 

“No. There hasn’t really been time and, well, I kind of assumed that it was gone. But it’s still here, on the charts, so maybe…”

Luke clenched his jaw, withdrawing into himself. His voice turned quiet and serious, smaller than Bodhi thought Luke was capable of being. “I don’t think you’d like what you saw there, Bo.”

Bodhi turned in his chair, and Luke was so still and so close, but he felt a million miles away somehow, his clenched jaw traded for sadness. Then he sighed, shoulders sinking with some unknown weight. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I won’t -” He cut himself off, closing his eyes briefly and then turning to walk back to the table. “If you want to go, we can.”

It was probably a bad idea, but Bodhi felt like he needed to see it anyway, to know for sure. He punched in the coordinates and pushed them into hyperspace, Luke’s mood settling like a dull ache at the back of his skull. Whatever was out there, it was time to go home. 

\---

The shuttle slipped out of hyperspace, blue shifting to black in an instant. The viewport filled with stars and the curve of NaJedha, Bodhi’s heart thudding heavily in his chest. Luke sat at the table, as silent as he’d been since Bodhi set their course. Bodhi let the shuttle sit for a moment, hand on the throttle, then pushed forward, keeping the curve of the planet bright at the edge of his vision as they orbited toward home. Between one breath and the next, Bodhi watched the moon come into view. 

> _ Feet dragging through the desert, the scent of home filling his lungs. Cold hands, cold fingers. Rope at his wrists and a blaster jittering the promise of death at his back. Galen was a liar.  _
> 
> _ The ground shook, the partisans shoving past to get free of the crushing wave. Cassian was whispering soft words to him, face shifting between kind and cold. Baze raised his cannon and aimed at Bodhi’s chest. The ground rose up, overhead and underfoot and Bodhi caught between. Cassian ran past, hand slipping off of Bodhi’s elbow. The shuttle lifted and he watched Jedha crumble. The shuttle lifted and he watched it fly away, disappearing into the shadows. The shuttle lifted and the sand buried him. The shuttle lifted... _

The moon of Jedha appeared, falling in crumbling streaks of red across the viewport. Bodhi’s hands dropped away from the controls, the shuttle drifting with residual thrust toward the destruction. Bodhi dug his nails into his palms in pulses, desperately clenching his hands into fists. 

> _ The cell was colder than any place Bodhi had ever been, hoarfrost forming in his hair from the moisture of his breath. He could feel blood trickling from his scalp, freezing along the side of his face. It had been two days since he saw anyone. It had been a week since he saw anyone. It had been…  _
> 
> _ The monster slithered at the edge of his vision, stealing pieces of him when he wasn’t looking. Saw lurched into the cell, except he was wearing Vader’s mask, the rasp of oxygen stealing the air from Bodhi’s lungs. It had been a week. No one was coming.  _

Bodhi could hear someone yelling, voice rising over the ringing in his ears. He knew he should answer, tear his eyes away from the evidence of the Empire’s evil, but his body wasn’t listening to his commands. Hands pulled at his shoulders, one warm and one unyielding. Bodhi gasped, every breath a struggle. Someone was trying to cover his eyes. 

> _ His mother sang, the rasp of her voice pulling Bodhi from sleep. Singing meant papa meant food that wasn’t beans and whatever vegetables they could snitch from the discards of the market. Papa meant warmth and stories and mama singing. Bodhi jumped out of bed, blanket wrapped around his shaking shoulders. He shuffled out of his room and into the kitchen, smile flickering brightly around the edge of his mouth. Mama sang, the sound shifting from joy to sorrow as he stepped across the threshold. Papa was home, papa was home, papa was cold. Papa wasn’t there anymore. Mama stopped singing.  _

Bodhi felt the coarse cloth of Luke’s shirt against his cheek. He was lying on the floor of the shuttle, half draped over Luke’s lap like he’d been dragged there. His palms were bleeding, crescent-shaped cuts in a curved line. Luke’s voice slipped in and out of his ears, a steady stream of nonsense. Drawing in a stuttered breath, Bodhi curled toward Luke’s warmth. “S-sorry.”

Luke’s hand brushed across his cheek, then curved around the edge of his jaw and held there. “Don’t - don’t look anymore. Please.”

Bodhi nodded, caught between Luke’s hand and Luke’s chest; those two points the only things keeping him on this side of reality. He darted a glance upward at Luke’s face, another apology held on his lips.

Luke was crying, his eyes locked on the viewport. “I can almost feel it dying,” he whispered. 

Bodhi catalogued the ache in his chest, the sting of his palms. “Me too,” he agreed, his voice filled with the rough grit of sand. “Can we go?”

Luke nodded, tearing his eyes away to look down at Bodhi’s face. “Yes. We can. I’m sorry I -”

“Luke, don’t.”

“Right. Alright. Just...stay here, okay?” Luke waited until Bodhi nodded, then helped Bodhi sit up, his head leaned against the back of the pilot’s seat. He climbed to his feet and slid into the chair, maneuvering the shuttle away from the remains of Jedha. 

The further away they got, the easier it was for Bodhi to breathe.

* * *

Bodhi rolled out of his bunk with a groan. Adjusting back to a planetary cycle was brutal, but he could see sunlight peeking around the edge of the open door. Luke’s bunk was empty, sheets and blankets shoved down toward one end. Shuffling across the floor, Bodhi worked his way half-blind toward the scent of caf, a grateful smile warming his face at the mostly full pot left on the warming plate for him. He poured a cup, scalding his tongue on the first sip, and wandered out onto the sand to find Luke. 

When they had first landed on this planet, Bodhi had looked out at the miles of sand stretching off into the distance with trepidation. Jedha had been weeks ago, but it still felt like a fresh wound. He was worried that the sand would dredge up more memories, of Jedha, but also of Scarif; something idyllic turned twisted because of its similarity. 

This beach was nothing like Jedha though, for one because of the water cresting at it’s edge, but also because of how soft it felt against his feet, washed to almost powder by the waves. Jedha’s sand was coarse in comparison, scrubbing the rough edges off of statues when the winds picked up. 

Luke said it wasn’t anything like Tatooine either, too much moisture just beneath the surface to be anything like his home. He didn’t say much beyond that, but Bodhi didn’t push. He could offer that much courtesy, at least. 

Bodhi couldn’t compare it to Scarif. There was no blood mixed into the white dunes, no whine of tie fighters streaking overhead. The planet’s moons poured crisp blue light with no shadow of death in their path. The galaxy was full of places with sand; Bodhi couldn’t let that torment him forever. 

Standing just off the end of the shuttle’s ramp, feet curling past the warm top layer of sand to the cool dampness beneath, Bodhi scanned the area for Luke. He found him, or the silhouette of him at least, moving across the rise before the land dipped down toward the water, some four hundred yards away. Bodhi curled his hands around his mug, groaned to himself about ridiculous men that got up way too early, and started walking. 

As he got closer, Bodhi could see that Luke was practicing his jedi training, a series of intricate movements that seemed to flow through him. It was elegant, almost like a dance, but he could see how adding a lightsaber would quickly twist it into something deadly. Luke had stripped down to just his loose pants, a thin sheen of sweat already forming on his pale skin. Bodhi found himself mesmerized, the play of Luke’s muscles moving under his skin unbelievably distracting.

“I know you’re watching me.”

Luke’s voice cut through the calm quiet, startling Bodhi out of his thoughts. He looked up, expecting annoyance, but found only a warm smile settled on Luke’s face. Bodhi brought his mug up to his lips to avoid replying, taking a long drink of his caf. 

“Well, if you’re going to watch, you might as well join me,” Luke said brightly. Bodhi spluttered into his drink and shook his head. “No no, that’s alright. I’m fine...over here. Observing.”

Unfortunately, Luke wasn’t so easily deterred. He grinned and walked over to Bodhi, gently pulling the mug from his hands and leaning down to put it on the ground. Bodhi stretched his fingers out toward his stolen drink and whimpered, but Luke just grabbed one of his hands and pulled him forward. As distracting as it had been to watch, having Luke’s hands guiding him through the movements was worse. Warm and sure against his hip and shoulder, Bodhi closed his eyes against the feelings swirling around in his gut. Then he made the mistake of opening them, and saw that Luke wasn’t actually touching him anymore. 

The warm sure feeling was still there, but it was Luke’s control of the Force pressing against his body instead of his hands. Bodhi’s breath caught in his throat, the swirl of feelings replaced by a rush of heat through his core. A stray thought wandered unhelpfully through Bodhi’s mind, of being held at Luke’s mercy, of that sure feeling against his skin while Luke watched from across the room. Bodhi shivered. 

“Are you alright?” Luke’s concern did nothing to push back the feelings of desire crackling at the edges of Bodhi’s consciousness, but Bodhi shook his head and swallowed back the words threatening to spill from his mouth. In a perfect life, he’d reach out and pull Luke into a kiss, invite him to slip into Bodhi’s mind and peruse the increasing catalogue of wants held there. Sometimes Bodhi wished that he could pretend he didn’t know the Jedi code or their stupid rules about not getting attached. 

Bodhi licked his lips and gestured back toward the shuttle, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s nothing. I should see about getting some breakfast started though. Then maybe we can figure out where we’re headed next.” 

He could feel Luke’s eyes following him as he walked past, leaning down to collect his abandoned caf along the way. Despite what his heart said, it was better this way. For both of them. 

* * *

Bodhi was used to the shuttle feeling small, but it was starting to get ridiculous. Suddenly, no matter where he turned, Luke seemed to be there. He didn’t mind the view, or the company. That was the problem, really. He wanted things that weren’t possible, not with the Hero of the Rebellion. Not with a Jedi either. 

The lack of clothing was starting to get to him though. 

Luke wandering around his bunk shirtless wasn’t anything new. It made sense, in the sleeping area, all things considered. The cockpit was another matter entirely. Brushing Bodhi’s quizzical look off with a shrug, Luke just said, “What? I was hot.” Bodhi bit his lip and adjusted the climate settings, tugging his flight suit up around his neck. It wasn’t until Bodhi could see his breath pluming white in front of his face that Luke finally conceded and put on his shirt. 

Bodhi laughed at Luke’s scowl then, his nose red and his cheeks pink from the chill, but warm inside despite the actual air temperature. 

\---

Luke stood in what passed as their kitchen, a blackened pan held over the warming plate and a look of horror struck across his face. As a matter of course, Bodhi was the one that put together their meals. It mostly involved rehydrating rations anyway, so he didn’t feel put out about it. Based on the disaster that Luke had just created, Bodhi quickly realized why Luke hadn’t volunteered before. 

“What...happened?” Bodhi tried to keep the laughter out of his voice, but failed miserably in the face of Luke’s look of affront at the pan’s existence.  He set the pan down sheepishly, the back of his neck turning pink as he rubbed nervously at it. “Thought I’d get you lunch. Didn’t work the way I thought it would.”

That same warm feeling curled around in Bodhi’s chest at Luke’s attempt, despite the fact that now they needed a new pan. 

\---

To say things came to a head after that would be an understatement.

Bodhi squeaked, shoulders pressed back against the wall and Luke’s hands framing his face. He wanted, so much, to lean forward and capture Luke’s mouth again. To forget about responsibility and rules; forget everything but the slick heat of Luke’s tongue against his own, the way his lips curled up at the corners, mouth bruising under the pressure of Bodhi’s desire. 

“You’re driving me crazy,” Luke panted, leaning forward to press their foreheads together. “It feels like you want me, want  _ this _ , but then you keep pulling away.”

Bodhi’s hands scrabbled for purchase in Luke’s shirt, tugging his body closer. He breathed into the air between them, “Of course I want you. Didn’t want to push, though. I know you’re not supposed to..”

Luke groaned and sealed their mouths together, his fingers wrapped around the back of Bodhi’s skull holding him in place. Bodhi couldn’t help but arch into it, tugging Luke’s shirt upward to get his hands on skin. Luke grinned into the kiss, pulling away to smirk at Bodhi before dipping his head down to nip at Bodhi’s neck. “Oh,  _ now _ you want my shirt off. Not going to freeze me out with cold air this time?”

He pulled back to look into Bodhi’s eyes, a rough edge of sadness slipping into his voice. “And fuck what I’m supposed to do. The Jedi Code didn’t seem to stop them all from getting killed. Denying what I feel seems like a good way to bury myself in darkness.” He paused, kissing Bodhi chastely. “With you I only feel light. I don’t see how that can be wrong.”

Bodhi’s head fell back against the wall, and he let the rush of warmth that encompassed everything he felt about Luke wash through him. He closed his eyes and sought the bright light of Luke in his mind, all the pieces finally falling into place. 

“I love you.”

Luke tugged him away from the wall and back toward their bunks with determination. Tomorrow they could continue searching, but tonight everything he wanted had already been found. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to [rogueshadows](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/rogueshadows) and [Bright_Elen](http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/bright_elen) for handholding and beta work on this!


End file.
